A Very Jersey Christmas
by starrgirl22
Summary: Danny and Grace head to New Jersey to spend the holidays with Danny's family.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Alright this story is going to be very different from the other stories I have written. This story is mostly fluff. My goal is to give Danny and Grace a fun family vacation in New Jersey. Please let me know if this story starts to get boring. Nothing worse than a fluffy story with no H50 action, and it is boring to boot. Hope you like it!_

_Disclaimer: (Tune of O Christmas Tree) Oh H50 Oh H50 I do not own you no no no!_

"Ladies and Gentlemen we will be making our final descent into Newark shortly. The temperature outside is a chilly 36 degrees so be sure to bundle up before you leave the airport and thank you for flying with us today," came the voice over the P.A. system.

Although Danny's eyes were closed he heard every word the captain had said. His stomach did an excited flip knowing that he was back in New Jersey. He hadn't been home in over 3 years. Spending Christmas with his family was something he had wanted to do ever since he had moved to Hawaii. He had spent three Christmases in the sun. The only hints of the time of year were on the calendar. He couldn't help feeling a little melancholy when he stared at the red and green decorations on palm trees. It just didn't look right. He missed the snow, even the cold weather, but most of all he missed his family.

Danny's mother was an excellent cook and everyone was always well fed at Christmas time. Danny planned on taking full advantage of her culinary treats while they were there. Although, if he gained weight on his trip Steve would never let him hear the end of it. That was motivation right there to not stuff himself silly.

It hadn't been easy to convince Rachel and Stan to give up Grace not only for her entire school break, but also an extra week after school started up as well. Not to mention that they were at the beginning of another custody disagreement. It had been Danny's mother that had convinced his ex to let him have Grace. Despite Rachel's disagreements with Danny she had always liked his mother even after the divorce. Rachel had given in after their phone conversation, although, she insisted on daily phone calls. This opened up possibilities for Stan and Rachel to take Grace to England for the holidays next year.

It had taken Danny three years to save for this trip and he wanted to take full advantage. In another 3 years Grace would be 13 and who knows what would be happening in their lives at that point.

Danny opened his eyes and looked down at his sleeping daughter. He gave her a small nudge. Grace yawned and opened her eyes. She was snuggled under a blanket. Grace had no winter wardrobe. In the planning stages of his trip he had reached out to his sister for help in supplying warmer clothes for her. Grace only had one older girl cousin and several younger. Danny knew his sister Corie was saving her daughter's clothes to be used as hand me downs.

Danny's clothing preferences hadn't changed much since the move although he did own a few more t-shirts to wear during his time off work. Anything he didn't have he could borrow from his father as they would be staying with Danny's folks during their visit.

"Are you excited, Monkey?" Danny asked as they felt the plane begin to make its decent.

Grace smiled and nodded her tired head. It had been a long trip. Their first plane had left Honolulu just after 5 the evening before. They had spent the night on the plane and landed in Chicago around just after 5 a.m Illinois time. Their layover had been close to five hours. The pair enjoyed breakfast and a bit more leg room until they boarded their second flight. With the time changes it put them in Jersey around 1:00 pm. This was 6 hours ahead of Hawaiian time.

Danny stretched his legs as best he could in the cramped space as the plane came to a stop at the terminal. As soon as the captain gave the okay Danny and Grace were up and gathering their belongings. Danny helped Grace put on her backpack before slinging his bag over his shoulder. Both wore long pants and sweatshirts. His folks were supposed to be bringing a winter coat for Grace to wear out of the airport. Danny and Grace joined the slow moving line off the plane. Danny nodded to the pilot and Grace waved as they exited.

"Where are Gram and Papa?" asked Grace as they walked through the busy airport.

"They should be waiting for us by baggage claim," Danny said focusing on hanging onto his daughter and stuff.

His mind automatically remembered his way around the familiar airport as he led Grace passed some metal detectors to the spinning luggage carousel.

"Daniel," came a recognizable voice.

"Daniel Terrence," another well known voice soon followed. Grace and Danny immediately spotted the owners of the voices.

The pair picked up speed making their way to the older couple. Grace was caught up in a hug with her Grandmother while Danny embraced his father. Danny had a lot in common with his father. It was his example that made him the father that he was. Danny also got his great hair from the man.

"How are you, son?" Terrence, "Terry" Williams asked.

Danny squeezed his dad tighter in response. The older Williams smiled against his son's blond head.

Danny and Grace then switched. Elizabeth Williams held out her arms to her son kissing his cheeks before wrapping her arms around her neck.

"My Danny baby is home," she said against his shoulder.

"Hi, Ma," came Danny's quiet response.

Danny got his sarcasm and stubbornness from his mother.

Both Jerseyians had thick accents. Grace had only had the beginnings of one when she had moved, but Danny had refused to lose his. Despite all his efforts his accent had faded some after his years in Oahu.

Danny pulled back from his mother and kissed her cheek. Mrs. Williams put her hands on either side of his face squeezing his cheeks slightly.

"Let me look at you, baby." Danny sighed like an embarrassed teenager and allowed her to inspect him.

Danny heard a chuckle come from his daughter. The older woman couldn't hold in her excitement and pulled her 36 year old baby boy in another hug.

"Lizzy. . . Lizzy. . . ," Danny's father said as he placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, "We need to find their bags and get going."

She kissed Danny one more time before pulling away and turning her affections back to Grace.

"How's my Gracie Elizabeth?" the older woman asked squeezing her grand daughter once again.

Danny and Terry watched the carousel.

"Ma, would you let my kid breathe before you suffocate her," Danny said half serious as he picked up Grace's pink Disney Princess suitcase.

Mrs. Williams loosened her grip on her grand daughter but kept her arms wrapped around the little girl. Grace looked up at her Grandmother and smiled.

"Gracie you letting your father borrow your suitcase?" the woman asked obviously teasing her son.

Grace giggled.

"Ha Ha," Danny said sarcastically.

Once they had all their bags Mrs. Williams picked up a shopping bag that had been dropped once Danny and Grace had been spotted. She pulled out a brand new winter coat.

"Now let's try this on and make sure it's the right size."

She helped Grace into the coat.

Danny took a deep breath.

"Ma I told you to get one from Cordelia," Danny said.

"Oh let me spoil my grand daughter," she retorted, "By the way Corie will kill you if you call her Cordelia."

Danny chuckled. He loved to tease his younger sister about her name. Danny turned to his father.

"Pop we are only here a couple of weeks it just seems like a waste."

"Hush Daniel and let your mother have her fun."

A few minutes later the four were walking out of the airport into the chilly New Jersey air. Danny took a deep breath. No pineapple, coconut, or tropical fruit smell of any kind. It smelled like home and immediately brought back hundreds of memories that the Hawaii heat and tropical smells had pushed into the far reaches of his mind.

"Do I get to see Talia today?" Grace asked as they climbed into the mid size SUV.

"Tomorrow honey, she and her mother are going to come over to help me do some baking. Do you want to help?"

Elizabeth Williams had planned on Grace helping anyhow, although Grace nodded enthusiastically.

The little girl was excited to help her grandmother in the kitchen. She remembered eating all her sweet treats from past Christmases in New Jersey. Packages had been sent to her and Danny after they moved to Hawaii. Both father and daughter agreed that the best time to eat Mama Williams' Christmas goodies was when they were fresh and warm out of the oven. Grace hoped to get copies of the recipes in order duplicate some of them at home.

Baking with Gram was not the only thing that had Grace excited. She was excited to see her cousin Talia. Talia was two years older than Grace, but the two girls were close like sisters. Talia had one older brother and two younger. Like Grace she had no sisters. Rachel and Cordelia had both been pregnant at the same time. Cordelia with her third child and Talia's younger brother. Talia had instantly become infatuated with Grace after she was born even though she was only two years old. She was always careful around baby Grace although she wasn't so careful with her own baby brother. Grace's move to Hawaii had been hard for both girls, but they kept in touch using Skype, Twitter, and Facebook. Neither girl was old enough to have their own account. Talia used her mother's while Grace had shown Danny how to set one up so she would have access. According to Gram Williams, Talia had gone nuts when she found out her favorite cousin would be visiting from Hawaii over her Christmas break.

Danny smiled at Grace as Terry pulled out of the parking lot. Danny read the welcome to Newark, New Jersey sign as the car passed by.

_"Welcome Home,"_ he thought to himself.

_Alright lots of Danny's family to meet in this story. Poor Danny misses his New Jersey home so much. He needs a chance to be with his family especially after Mathew was such a poop head. So part of this story will be exploring who Danny's family is. We know his Hawaii ohana. Now let's meet his New Jersey family. Be prepared for stubbornness, loud mouths, sarcasm, and a whole lot of love. Enjoy and please review._


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Normally I wouldn't be able to write and post this early on a Monday, but my baby has a fever so I took a day off work. Besides I have to do something while she naps. Gosh darn she got shots two Fridays ago and the doc said she might develop a fever around 10 days after getting the shots so here I am. Enjoy! _

_Disclaimer: (Tune of Deck the Halls) I do not own H-5-0 fa la la la la la la la la._

Grace took out her cell phone to call Rachel once her Grandfather pulled into traffic so she could let her know they had arrived safely. Danny felt his phone vibrate as he listened to Grace talk. A frown crossed his lips upon seeing the caller ID.

"Steven, I'm on vacation. You better not be calling to tell me that you need me to fly home," Danny said sarcastically greeting his partner.

"I just wanted to make sure you two got there safely," came the reply.

Danny suspected that Steve had gotten Catherine to track their flights using some classified high tech Navy satellite to make sure their planes hadn't fallen out of the sky.

Mr. and Mrs. Williams listened to the two conversations happening in the back. Elizabeth had insisted that they buy a cellular phone with a good long distance plan and up to date computer so they could keep in touch with Danny and Grace after their move. Danny had been shocked when his mother had called to scold him for not checking in with her after his arrival, although, Danny had only been in Hawaii for only a few hours. Danny had told her that he wouldn't have time to call her every ten minutes with an update. He knew being the new guy on the HPD force was going to be time consuming. It would be likely that he would get assignments that none of the other detectives would want. He did agree that he would make an effort to call whenever he had Grace.

Danny hung up before Grace and turned to the window taking in the familiar sights as well as things that had changed since he left. The car turned into Danny's old neighborhood. He had grown up here and lived in the same house until he had graduated from the police academy.

Terry clicked the garage door opener and pulled inside. Danny squeezed Grace's hand as the door came down into place behind the vehicle. All piled out and headed into the house. As he entered the house memories from the years spent there came back to him. He remembered breaking his arm as he came rushing down the stairs after one of his sisters who had stolen something out of his room. For the life of him he couldn't remember what had been taken or who had taken it, but he remembered the crack of the bone as he hit the floor.

Grace slipped her hand into his and Elizabeth and Terry stood back giving them a moment to take it all in. Danny remembered the first time he had brought his daughter into the house. His two year old niece Talia had wanted to hold the baby. He was afraid that her small arms would drop and injure his month old daughter. He had kept one protective hand on baby Grace to support her while Talia held her while sitting on the couch.

Danny took in a deep breath and one of his favorite scents filled his nostrils.

"Ma," he said turning around with his eyes lit up in excitement, "Are we having lasagna for dinner?"

Mrs. Williams knew her son well. Danny and Grace grabbed their luggage and headed up the stairs.

"I put some of Talia's old clothes up there. Danny have her try on a few outfits and make sure they fit."

Danny's sister Corie was the organized one in the family. As Talia grew out of her clothes they were put carefully into storage bags and organized by size. The intent was to save the clothes for a younger sister, but that had not happened. So the clothes were saved for her younger cousins. Corie had been eager to help out in finding warm clothes for Grace to wear during her visit.

The suitcases that Danny had brought not only held his clothes, but gifts for his family members as well. He slipped the suitcase containing the presents into his closet and shut the door while Grace tried on some of the clothes in the bathroom.

The pair came downstairs. Mrs. Williams had made sandwiches for them to tide them over as it would be few hours until the lasagna was ready. After eating they settled in the living room. Terry read the newspaper while Liz started teaching Grace how to knit. Danny found a football game on TV glad to be watching it live. He wasn't able to do that in Hawaii during the week unless he took a sick day.

It was peaceful and quiet which was a welcome change to Danny's high stressed job where he was constantly being shot at and trying to advert crisis that would affect life in the tropical paradise.

The four sat down to dinner around 7. Danny felt like he was ten years old as he impatiently waited for his father to say grace. His mother and father were practicing Catholics and had raised their children to be the same. This meant going to church every week and not just on Christmas and Easter. Any faith that Danny had had dried up by the time his marriage ended. After being a detective he was appalled that humans could do such things to one another. He was troubled that a God of any kind could let that happen. He hoped that religion would not come up or be pushed this trip.

His mother served him first for fear he would start drooling all over her best table cloth. The bite he took was too hot and burned the inside of his mouth, but the flavor trumped the pain. Grace saw a genuine almost goofy smile come over Danny's face as he chewed. Grace remembered Gram's lasagna and eagerly started in but blew on hers to cool it. Elizabeth served her husband and then herself.

"Slow down Daniel before you choke," she scolded.

Danny picked up the homemade garlic bread that always accompanied the meal. Well almost always. One time his mother had been out of ingredients to make the bread dough and hadn't realized until the lasagna was finished. Danny had been nine and had made a big fuss. He loved to dip the bread into the warm meat sauce that squished out from in between the noodles.

"You know Gracie your daddy told me that he wants to eat this very lasagna for his last meal," Liz said helping herself to more salad.

Danny nodded and looked at Gracie glad that he hadn't told his daughter that he changed his mind and would rather have a giant box of Coco Puffs, a pastry made in Hawaii. If he had told her that then he was sure the information would have been past on to his mother and all that would do would be to bring about a lecture on how he could change his mind especially as she carried him in her body for nine months. The only person who knew was Chin Ho Kelly and Danny doubted very much that he and his mother would be having a conversation.

"Daniel your mother and I will be attending Mass on Sunday," Terry Williams said.

Crap!

Danny could tell that his dad was bringing up the sensitive subject carefully. Danny took in a deep breath and focused on his plate while his folks' eyes looked his direction.

"Pop, please don't start," Danny said not making eye contact.

"We aren't asking you to anything you don't want to do. I just wanted to let you know," the older man said.

"We were hoping that you and Gracie would come with us," Danny's mother said.

The tone of her voice begged the detective to accept the offer. Danny looked over at Grace who he was sure was confused by the conversation. She looked at him in a puzzling way. Rachel did not take her to church of any kind and Danny didn't now either.

"Lizzy, we talked about not pushing. This is up to Danny," Terry said giving his wife stern look.

"I've told you why I can't Ma. Just accept that . . .please," Danny said repeating what he had told her many times before.

No one spoke much after that. Grace had wanted to ask questions about what Mass was, but the atmosphere around the table told her that now was not a good time. It took until after the dinner dishes were done for things to be back to normal.

Danny and Grace played a game of checkers, and Terry and Liz were content with watching them. Around 10 o'clock Grace let out a big yawn. Danny was afraid that they would be awake til after midnight because of the time difference. It was only 4 o'clock in Hawaii. However after almost a full day of travel with getting an uncomfortable sleep on the plane the night before both were ready for bed.

Danny and Grace headed up to the bedroom that Danny had shared with his brother Matthew after their youngest sister Samantha had been born. The house only had five bedrooms. Liz and Terry had been surprised in finding out that Liz was pregnant with their fifth child. They had to move some kids about to make everyone fit. It came down to Danny and Mattie sharing a room and Corie and Cryssie sharing room. It was decided that Corie and Cryssie would share a room because they were closer in age. Danny and Matt were five years apart. If the baby was a boy then each boy would have their own room. If the baby was a girl then Cryssie would share with the new baby when she was older. However things had not gone according to plan. The bedroom arrangement had worked for a while, but when Corie turned 10 the two sisters started to become polar opposites. Neat and organized Corie could not stand the mess left behind by her slob of a sister. She would complain to her mother that Crystal could just look at their room and it would become untidy. So 12 year old Danny and 7 year old Mathew were put in a room together. Danny had been promised that his roommate would be temporary, but it kept peace among his sisters so he sacrificed.

The bunk beds the two boys had slept in were still set up in the room.

"I call top bunk," Grace said as they entered the room.

She found a pair of pajamas and went to the bathroom to change. She was back in record time and Danny wrapped her up in a big "Goodnight" hug. Grace climbed the latter and snuggled under the homemade quilt that matched the bottom one. Danny took his turn in the bathroom.

"Good night," he called down to his folks when he got out.

"Good night," came the reply as the pair stood up to head into their room.

Another memory flashed through Danny's head. He remembered standing in the same spot at various ages and saying those same words. He smiled and returned his room ready for a good night sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Time to meet more of the Williams clan although if you think about it none of Danny's sisters would have the Williams name if they were married. Just a thought. Plus it's Tuesday and time for my weekly shout out of how much I loved the last H50 episode. Steve was so cute. I laughed so hard when he was describing the whole wild boar thing. There were plenty of Danny/Grace moments which are always my favorite. It was just all around a great show to watch. The den mother leader character was so funny and well cast. I love how she and Scott Caan interacted with one another. It also gave me some inspiration for this story. Danny is at home visiting family I think the reason he got kicked out of the boy scouts will probably come up. Oh and favorite part in the show was Danny and Grace in an in the tent in the apartment. So nice that Danny is not living in a dump. Looks like he finally found a decent place for himself. _

_Disclaimer: On the first day of Christmas my lawyer said to me: You don't own H-5-0 you see._

The doorbell rang the next morning just as breakfast was finished. Grace had been so excited when she had woken up that she almost refused to eat. Danny was more awake after a cup of coffee, but no where near to the extent of his daughter.

Grace ran to the front door and threw it open. Before she could get a good look at the five people on the porch one figure up front launched herself at her wrapping Grace up in a big hug. Talia's coat was cold from being outside, but Grace didn't care. It had been too long since the cousins had been in the same room together. Both squealed with delight.

Danny came out of the kitchen with a big smile on his face. His sister Corie had one just as big. They were glad that their daughters had remained close despite the separation. Grace and Talia didn't end their embrace. I fact the girls had started bouncing up and down as they hugged and screamed. Corie and her boys had to walk around them to get inside.

Danny hugged his sister. He and Corie had always gotten along as kids, and now shared a special bond as adults. Like Mathew, Corie had been a huge support to Danny when his marriage had ended.

"Good to see you, sis," he said as they pulled back.

He then turned to his nephews who had grown so much since he had seen them last. Tucker was 15 and the oldest grandchild as well. The two younger boys were Timothy, 10, and Terrence, 7. The two younger boys clung to their Uncle Danny begging him to come out and play in the snow with them. Timmy remembered Uncle Danny playing with him before he had moved away. Terrence had been too young to remember much about Uncle Danny, but pretended he did.

"Tucker would you go out and help Danny with the boys?" his mother asked.

Although it had been a question the teen knew the teen knew he didn't have choice in the matter. Not to mention that it also obligated Danny to go out. The off duty detective said he needed to go and change clothes and would be out in few minutes. He walked over to his daughter and niece and gave Talia a quick squeeze before disappearing upstairs. Danny was glad the girls had voluntarily separated. Danny thought that he and his sister might have to pull them apart. Tucker ushered to boys out the door suggesting they pelt Danny with snowballs once he emerged from the house. The women had gone into the kitchen while Terry disappeared to get a few chores done.

Gram pulled out her cookbook and opened it. The Williams house would be full early on Christmas Eve and remain full until late Christmas Day. There would be 19 people in all. Although Elizabeth Williams was holding out that by some miracle her youngest son might show up make it an even 20. Of course Mattie showing up meant that he would need to turn himself in. Liz knew Danny would have to see to that.

Not only would the woman be baking Christmas goodies, but also things for meals that could be easily frozen and reheated when ready to eat them. Grace and Talia helped Gram start the gingerbread while Corie started pancake batter.

"Ma maybe we should plan for a few more since Sammie seems to be getting her appetite back," Corie said as she started pouring ingredients for batter.

"Not a moment to soon. Poor thing has been so sick I don't know how she's been able to go to work."

Corie's youngest sister Samantha was pregnant and just getting over really bad morning sickness. Everything was making her throw up. It was so bad that she couldn't even be around her 4 year old twin girls Kylie and Abigail. Liz had stepped in bring the girls to stay with her and Terry. In fact they had just returned home earlier that week before Danny and Grace arrived. Sammie was also a school teacher and didn't have enough sick days to stay home until the morning sickness wore off. Corie had talked on the phone and found out that Sammie had been doing most of her teaching from behind her desk and even had to excuse herself few times to go and throw up. Sammie had been just as sick this time as she had been when she was pregnant with the twins. The young school teacher was vowing that never again would she be getting pregnant. It had taken four years to be ready to try for another child after the twins.

The women heard the front door open and close as Danny headed outside. The girls then heard war cries as the three boys attacked and pelted him with snow balls. They didn't count on their uncle to use his police skills to find the closest place to take cover which was behind their mother's mini van. It was a good move. The boys had to regroup and try to move around it. If they broke a window or something all they would be getting for Christmas this year would be cole and the bill. Danny worked on retaliating pulling from not only from his experience as a cop, but also as a kid who dominated many snowball fights.

"I hope they don't hurt each other," Cory said as she turned on the electric fry pan.

"Oh boys will be boys," Liz said.

"Yeah, and my boys end up bleeding and needing stitches more often than I would like to count," Corie said fighting the temptation to go out and make sure they weren't being too rough.

"Danny and Mattie were the same way."

Grace liked listening to her grandma and aunt talk about her father. She loved hearing stories about when he was a kid and Corie and Liz had plenty, especially embarrassing ones.

"Gram. . . Aunt Corie?" Grace asked questioningly.

"What honey?" Corie asked as she flipped the pancakes.

"Why did Danno get kicked out of the Boy Scouts?" Grace asked remember her father telling her Aloha Girls Troop.

"What?" both women said at once.

Liz's face turned red from the remembered embarrassment.

"Danno wouldn't tell me. Please," Grace begged.

"I'll tell you what happened," Corie said laughing.

She still thought it was funny.

"He set his scout master on fire," she said.

Both Grace and Talia gasped, looked at each other and then at Corie thinking she might be kidding. The look on her face said that she wasn't.

"Corie don't exaggerate," Liz said sternly, "It was only his shirt sleeve, girls."

"He tried to use gasoline to help him earn his fire starting merit badge. His leader was too close and was caught by surprise when the flames shot up and into his face. Besides the other boys were able to earn first aid badges that day."

"Daniel hated scouts anyway so it was agreed that he wouldn't have to go back. Papa was very disappointed," Liz said.

"I think you should hide the matches and gasoline, Gram," Talia joked not able to hold in her laughter, "You know now that Uncle Danny is back."

"Don't repeat that story to your brothers," Corie said pointing the spatula in her daughter's direction.

"Why not?" Grace asked.

"Because Timmy would probably try it at his scout group. All he's been able to talk about since we found out you guys were coming to visit is Uncle Danny this and Uncle Danny that."

Talia had passed on the stories about Uncle Danny in Hawaii that she had heard from Grace. Talia had used them to keep her brothers under control while babysitting. The stories had been embellished some. Of course some of the stories had included some of Uncle Steve's antics which needed no embellishment at all. Timmy wanted now to be a detective or a Navy SEAL some day too since it sounded like they did such cool stuff. Talia was rooting for SEAL. She thought he brother could use some military discipline.

The morning continued with the girls cooking and Danny tiring himself playing with the boys. Danny wondered how Steve, Mr. Endurance, would fare with his nephews. It wasn't even lunch time and he was pooped. As the wet and tired boys came in the house

Corie and Elizabeth yelled at the same time from the kitchen, "PUT YOUR WET CLOTHES IN THE DRYER!"

They obeyed not wanting to be in trouble for tracking water into the house. Danny felt like a kid and not a 36 year old adult as he followed his nephews to the dryer stripping off his coat and pants. Not having snow pants left Danny in his boxers and long sleeved shirt.

Timmy followed Danny upstairs as he retrieved dry pants. Since Terrence followed Timmy everywhere he went too. Tucker used the opportunity to pull out his phone and find a spot on the living room couch. Corie came out of the kitchen just in time to spot her two youngest sons following Danny down the stairs like little ducks. Danny fell onto the couch breathing hard. Timmy and Terrence did not give him much time to rest. They got into a cupboard and pulled some board games and begged Danny play with them. Danny sighed and sat by the coffee table in the middle of the room while the boys set up the game Memory. Although Timmy felt like he was too old for the game he played because his brother still liked it.

"Danny. . . Corie?" came his mother's voice from the kitchen, "Could you come in here for a minute?"

Danny got up and he and Corie walked to the kitchen.

Grace and Talia watched them tentatively.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"What have you girls been plotting. I've been gone only a few moments," Corie said cursiously.

"The girls and I were thinking that maybe Talia could stay here as well during Grace and Danny's visit. At least until school starts again. You know give the girls a chance to spend as much time together as possible."

Danny looked at his sister.

"Fine by me," he said.

Corie didn't answer right away. Talia helped out so much at home. If she was here then she would be the only girl at home. She thought it over not answering right away.

"Oh alright. If your sure it won't be trouble, Ma," Corie said.

Grace and Talia hugged each other before going to hug Aunt Corie.

"Excuse me what am I chopped liver," Danny said although he knew he had only been consulted out of courtesy.

Both girls moved to hug him next.

"So Talia and I are going to stay in Aunt Corie's old room," Grace said looking up at Danny once her arms were around his waist.

"Fine," Danny said.

The two girls squealed with delight and rushed upstairs to move Grace's things.

The three adults chuckled.

"Maybe after lunch I could drive the girls to your place and let Talia pick up a few things?" Danny said.

"You trying to get out of watching my boys?" Corie asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Yup, they tire me out," Danny answered honestly and he'd done all night stake outs before, "Oh Tucker. . ."

Danny disappeared back into the living room ready to tell Tucker that he would get to spend some more quality time with his brothers.

_A/N: Kay when I was editing this chapter I hadn't planned on adding the boy scout thing, but it seemed to fit. Besides I was having trouble coming up with something to write about. Oh and all of the pregnancy stuff was no exaggeration. I felt exactly like that when I was pregnant. I did not have young children of my own to take care of. I did spend the last month of school teaching from behind my desk that year. And people smelled horrible especially sweaty people. Of course meat was the worst and people are made of meat. I never really got my appetite back for most of the pregnancy unlike Sammie will. I did crave sugar though which really sucked when I found out I had gestational diabetes. I wouldn't wish my pregnancy on my worst enemy. Well maybe Rachel. My gosh I think I spent this last year making up for not eating much for the nine months. Please review. Thanks for reading._


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Time to meet the rest of the crew. Some characters will be developed more than others as you will see. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: On the second day of Christmas my lawyer said to me: Quit stalking Scott Caan, and you don't own H-5-0 you see. (Just kidding I don't live close enough to stalk Scott Caan. Besides that would be creepy. And I really don't own H50.)_

Corie and her boys left to go home when the cooking was done.

Danny spent all day the next day, Sunday, playing with his niece and daughter. He watched the girls while his folks went to church. Talia decided that staying home one Sunday to be with her cousin wouldn't matter. Danny and the girls dressed in their snow clothes and headed outside.

Playing with the girls was not as rough as playing with the boys. Danny, however, did get them on board to ambush the boys with snowballs.

Talia loved every minute she spent with Grace and Danny. At home sometimes it felt like her versus her brothers. Tucker left her alone for the most part. It was Timmy and Terrence who got on her nerves. They were always ganging up on her. She enjoyed plotting revenge against the obnoxious terrors.

After building a snowman they went inside to warm up and relax.

Grace and Talia reminded Danny to put his wet clothes into the dryer even if he had remembered his mother and sister's shout from the day before.

They all rummaged through the kitchen for treats to warm them up. Grace found a huge canister of hot chocolate. Gram had used it to make it for the boys on yesterday at lunch. Talia found two cans of Tomato soup. Danny decided to make grilled cheese to go along with that. He scooted the girls into the living room so he could cook.

"Don't burn down the kitchen or Gram will kill you," Grace giggled as she walked out with Talia.

Talia couldn't hold in her laugh.

"Ha Ha, beat it," he said sarcastically pointing to the exit.

The girls pulled out a deck of cards and Grace started teaching Talia how to play 5 card draw. They had only played a few hands when Danny announced lunch was ready. He told Grace to bring the cards to the table and this is how Liz and Terry found them. They were eating grilled cheese, soup, drinking hot chocolate, and betting the oyster crackers that Danny had put out for the soup in their Poker game. Terry thought is was the funniest thing he had ever seen.

"Why are you corrupting my grandbabies?" Liz asked.

She did not approve of card playing of any type and it bugged her that her husband had taught all of her kids how to play. She was not happy to see it was being passed onto the next generation of her family.

Liz busied her self and calmed down by doing the dishes while Terry joined in the game giving his grand daughters tips on how to beat the pants off his son. That's how that group had spent the afternoon and into the evening. Liz was caught giving a few annoyed looks to her son and husband. She did enjoy the time to get her house in perfect shape for the family that would be arriving the next day.

H50

The next day was Christmas Eve. The family started arriving in the morning and it seemed like nonstop with hugs and greetings most of which went to Grace and Danny.

The first to arrive was Danny's middle sister Cryssie. She had her husband, 13 year old son Eric, 8 year old Callie, and 6 year old Sophia with her. Eric went straight for the couch, sat down, and grumpily folded his arms. He had a sour look on his face. Danny watched Crystal sigh as she looked at her son. Danny put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her away from everyone else.

"How you doing sis?" he asked.

Danny knew that Cryssie had been having trouble with her oldest son. He had been caught skipping school and hanging out with the wrong crowd. The teen hadn't done anything illegal besides being truant. Crystal was worried that it would only be a matter of time. She was at her wits end with her son. Eric was angry with her because he was grounded for his entire break and that included video games, cell phone, and he was only allowed to watch T.V. if it were a family activity. Not to mention he wasn't allowed to see his friends.

Cryssie looked like she was about to cry in response to his question. Danny hugged her hoping she would calm down.

"Let me know if I can do anything," he whispered in her ear.

Cryssie nodded and clung to her brother. As they pulled apart he put his hands on her shoulders.

"I mean it. If he puts one more toe and out of line and you send him to me for a couple of weeks.

Cryssie was confused.

"A trip to Hawaii sounds more like a reward than punishment," she said.

"You've never met my partner. He's a former Navy SEAL and his idea of a workout is cutting a trail five miles in the jungle with full pack in the blazing heat. Trust me it would be worse than boot camp," Danny assured her.

Crystal let a small smile form on her lips and she and Danny walked back to join the group.

"Howzit cuz?" Talia greeted her cousins trying out the pidgin that Grace had taught her.

This had brought odd looks from her family members especially Danny. The detective had been looking forward to getting away from the odd vernacular that he was constantly hearing. When he had first arrived in Hawaii he thought he had landed in the wrong place. Hawaii was a U.S. state so he had expected to hear English. He felt like he needed a translator for the first few months in his new home.

Danny pulled Grace aside. Talia followed when she realized her other half had moved away.

"You gonna teach that Hawaiian talk to all of your cousins?" Danny asked not sure how he felt about his nieces and nephews going around using the broken English that drove him crazy.

Danny also had a feeling that it would drive his sister, Sammie, crazy. She and her husband were school teachers. Danny had heard they had gone out of their way to make sure that their twin girls spoke with perfect grammar from a young age. It might make the pregnant woman go into early labor if she heard them speaking it. Considering she was only 16 weeks along that would not be a good thing.

As if on cue in walked Samantha's husband his arms full of bags. Samantha followed behind holding onto her daughters' hands. Grace and Danny had only seen the twins a few times before they moved. The girls were just over a year old when Danny and Grace had moved.

The four year olds clung to their mother's hand as the two tanned strangers approached.

"Kylie. . . Abigail," Sammie said looking down, "Remember I said that you were going to meet your Uncle Danny and cousin Grace today. I showed you their picture."

Abigail the shy one hid her face in her mother's side while Kylie took a step towards Danny. Danny got down on one knee and to his surprise Kylie wrapped her small arms around his neck. Danny gently returned it. He actually wasn't sure which twin he was hugging. They looked exactly alike. Thank heavens their mother hadn't dressed them in completely identical outfits. The shirts they wore had the same design, but different base colors.

Grace copied her Danno and also got down on one knee holding out her arms to her brave little cousin. Kylie then hugged Grace. As father and daughter stood Grace felt Kylie's hand slip into hers. Talia joined Grace by the door after helping her uncle with the bags. The other twin walked right over to Talia and held her hands up. The twelve year old picked her up. Shy little Abby loved being around her big cousin Talia. Talia was the twins' favorite babysitter.

Danny walked over to Sammie holding his arms out. She embraced her brother, but after a moment pushed him away.

"You smell funny Danny," she said in all seriousness wrinkling her nose.

Danny backed away a little bit not wanting to get thrown up on. He knew all about her pregnancy and morning sickness. Samantha walked forward put her nose close by his shoulder and sniffed. She sniffed up his shoulder and neck to the base of his hair line.

"What did put in your hair this morning?"

She asked taking a step back.

"Just hair gel like always, sis," he said.

"Fine, just don't stand too close. I don't want to smell it," Sammie said in all seriousness as she side stepped her brother and went in the kitchen in search of something to eat.

"No problem," Danny responded still feeling a little creeped out by the whole encounter.

"Don't take it so hard," Danny's brother in law Samuel said putting a hand on Danny's shoulder, "She says most of my stuff stinks too."

Danny hugged his brother in law. He couldn't get over the fact that his baby sister had married a man who had the masculine form of her name. Either could by go by Sammie or Sam. It was a little weird. The pair had met in while in college. They both had the same major of Elementary Education. Sam was now working toward becoming a principal. The extra money would mean that Sammie could teach part time instead of full and allow her to be home with her girls and new baby more. The hardest thing she had done was go back to work after her maternity leave had been up. At least this time she would have more time with the baby when he or she was born. The baby was due at the end of the school year so Sammie would have the whole summer. Sam should be starting a job in administration the next year and Sammie was hoping to apply for a part time position.

Grace picked up Kylie and followed Talia into the living room.

The doorbell rang once more and Corie walked in arriving last of the bunch. All could see the reason why it had taken her family extra time to get there. Terrence held a tissue up to his nose and had his head tilted back. One eye managed to look around the tissue to see where he was going.

"Don't ask. . . I don't want to talk about it," Corie said obviously feeling frustrated at what ever had caused the seven year old's nose to bleed.

Danny though he saw a red mark on Timmy's forehead. Danny was willing to bet that the spot would probably be a bruise before the end of the day. Talia put Abigail down and went to hug her mother.

"Are you having fun sweetheart?" Corie asked.

Part of her wished that Talia wasn't and would say that she wanted to come home. The smile on the preteen's face told her that this was not the case.

"Uncle Danny and Papa taught me how to play poker yesterday," Talia responded excitedly.

The smile vanished from Corie's face and she glared and her father and brother. She, like her other siblings, had been taught to play by Terry, but Corie had decided that she agreed with her mother and decided not to teach her kids how to gamble.

"I want to learn," Tucker said.

The quiet teen hardly spoke to Danny or any other adults the other day. Not to mention that Tucker was irritated that his sister learned before she did.

"Me too! Me too!" Timmy started and Terrence joined in even though he was still trying to get his bleeding nose to stop.

"Thanks, Pop," Corie said sarcastically as she headed to the kitchen to help her mother and more than likely to complain to her as well.

Everyone else gathered in the living room. Sammie came out of the kitchen eating out of a bowl.

"What is that?" Cryssie asked.

"Bake potato and sour cream," Sammie answered taking a big bite, "I can't get enough of them. I dreamed last night that there was a giant baked potato in a swimming pool of sour cream and now I really want one."

At least she wasn't craving peanut butter covered sardines or something.

Several conversations started through out the room, but most of the cousins were gathered around Grace anxious to hear about her exciting life in Hawaii. The adult conversations ceased after they heard the ten year answering all the questions the cousins had. Danny listened, but did offer any answers even though he knew just as much as Grace did.

"I'm learning how to surf and so is Danno," Grace said when asked about it.

All eyes turned to Danny. Shock was all over his two sisters' faces. They didn't know that he gone back in the ocean after vowing never again after the death of his best friend so many years ago.

"It's not so bad," Danny said.

"My Auntie Kono is teaching us. She used to be a professional surfer until she got injured. Now she works in 5-0 with Daddy," Grace said continuing on.

Again adult eyes turned to Danny, but this time the looks were very different. His family knew he was dating someone out in Hawaii, but he hadn't shared many details about it. The looks told Danny that they were wondering if he was dating his coworker.

"We are not dating, she's just teaching me how to surf."

"That's right Danno is dating Gabby for over a year now. Right Danno?"

Again eyes went from Grace to Danny. Now they wondered how serious it was. If he married a girl from Hawaii the chances of him moving back home were pretty much a zero. After he had left his family had held out hope that he would come to his senses and come back to Jersey. Three years later and three days back at home hadn't seemed to change his mind. Danny was stubborn and as many times he wanted to book a flight home in those first few months he hadn't. He couldn't leave Grace. He wouldn't leave her. And now that he thought about it he didn't want to leave his job with 5-0 either.

H50

One of the things Danny had looked forward to most about being home for Christmas was some of his family traditions that he couldn't do in Hawaii. He had tried having a real tree his first year in Hawaii, but the poor little thing was half dead when he got it. He had given in determined to have something that looked nice and that wouldn't die on him so he had bought an artificial one the next year. He sprayed it down with pine scented freshener, but it still wasn't the same. It had been years since the almost entire Williams Clan had gotten together to decorate a tree. Even before Danny and Grace moved. Gram and Papa decided that this would be a good year to decorate a tree as a family. The only day that everyone would be together was Christmas Eve and Day. Decorating the tree was one activity planned for the day.

"Tucker. . .Eric. . ." Terry said standing up, "Come on boys we are going to get a tree."

The two teens obediently got up. Both were anxious to get away from the noise of the house and spend some time with their grandfather even sour faced Eric.

The rest of the family would be going to a nearby park to enjoy another tradition of going sledding. Everyone got up and started dressing. Older kids dressed first so the adults could dress the younger ones and send them outside so they wouldn't start sweating in their winter gear.

Danny led his nephews around the side of the house as the large group tried to get organized once everyone was outside. Danny's sisters and mother were all trying to be the one in charge so it was pretty chaotic.

"What's that?" Timmy asked as they approached a snow wall that was about 4 feet high.

"You'll see," Danny said in a teasing tone.

At that moment Grace and Talia popped up with their arms full of snow balls. After the first one hit into their chests the boys tried to run and realized that Danny had a hold of the backs of their coats and was keeping them in place. The two girls laughed as they continued to pelt the obnoxious pair.

_This is for going in my room. This is for pulling the heads off my Barbie dolls. This is for using my favorite shirt as a paintbrush._

Talia thought of reasons for payback as the snowballs flew. Danny let out an evil villain laugh as the boys tried to get away. The girls aimed for their chests and lower leg areas. The boys were defenseless and they really didn't want to hurt them. The boys' high pitched screams brought the nearby adults running around the side of the house. Instead of coming to their rescue everyone bust out laughing. All in the group at one point or another had been hit unsuspectingly with a snowball by the boys over the years. Grace and Talia soon ran out of snowballs and came out from around their snow wall. Both boys scowled at their older sister as she triumphantly approached them.

"Payback," is all she said.

She almost added, "is a bitch", but knew that her mother would not let her get away with that one.

"What about Tucker?" Timmy whined, "It was his idea to go after you the other day?"

The little boy turned toward his uncle.

"Well he's not here. That's how it goes sometimes."

The family all piled into the cars and drove the short distance to the same park that Danny and his sisters had played at when they were kids. Everyone either grabbed a sled or a younger child's hand as they trekked up to the top of the hill.

"I want to ride with you Grace," Kylie said clinging onto her hand. Grace smiled down at her cousin glad that she had taken a liking to her.

"I promised my dad I would ride with him first, but you can go with me the second time."

The little girl nodded and went to go stand next to her mother and wait for Grace to come back up to the top. Danny steadied the sled while Grace got in then settled in behind her. Grace looked down the monstrous slope as she felt her dad push them towards the edge.

All at once the sled went over the edge and down towards the bottom. The cold air on her face, Danno's arms wrapped around her middle, the white snow rushing past brought back the memories of her and Danny doing this before they had moved. Rachel had didn't like sledding so it is something the two of them had done.

Grace remembered her first sled ride. It had been on this same hill. Grace had been three. The sled moved fast down the hill. It looked the same way it had the first time. The only difference now was Grace was bigger.

Before they knew it the sled came to a stop at the bottom. All the weight added to the sled sent them further than anyone else in the family.

Grace immediately spotted Talia moving Abigail and their sled out of the way so they could walk back up the hill.

"Carry me," the little girl begged her cousin as Danny and Grace caught up to them.

"How 'bout letting Uncle Danny carry you and I'll pull the sled."

Abby looked up at the blonde man. She liked his daughter. Grace was nice like Talia, but the four year old wasn't sure about her uncle.

"I don't think I'll be able to carry you because my coat is too bulky. So it's either Uncle Danny or walk."

Abby thought over her choices as she looked up the steep hill. She lifted her arms towards the detective and Danny hoisted her up. Grace and Talia towed the sleds behind them. The little girl put her arm around Danny's neck and turned herself so she was facing forward.

The group made it up pretty quick as Abby's small legs weren't slowing them down. Danny set her down at the top, and to his surprise didn't run back to Talia or her mother. Instead she clung to Danny's leg.

"I want to ride with you next Uncle Danny," Abby said looking up at him.

Danny wasn't sure if she wanted to go with him because she was warming up to him or because she knew she wouldn't have to climb the hill is she went with him. He wasn't going to tell his niece no whatever her motives.

Talia helped Grace set up one of the sleds so she could take Kylie on the promised second ride. Danny followed behind with Abby. The twins squealed with delight as they slid down the snowy slope.

Danny scooped up Abby and the sled when they got to the bottom. Kylie, after seeing her sister, wanted to be carried too. Grace pulled the sleds as Danny carried the twins back to the top.

Sammie saw her brother, out of breath, come to the top with a twin in each arm. Sammie couldn't stop herself from bursting into tears. It was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Of course, anything made Sammie cry nowadays.

Danny decided that the hill was a lot steeper than he remembered and voluntarily took a break so he could catch his breath.

The group continued to take turns using the sleds to go down the hill and come back up.

After a bit the cold started to get to the little ones they decided to pack it up and head back to the house. It was well after noon and all were getting hungry.

As they entered the house wet clothes started coming off.

"Bout time you got home. The pizza was starting to get cold," Terry said coming out of the living room.

"Pizza?" Danny asked.

"Thought you and Grace could use a good slice, son," Terry said winking at Danny.

10 large pizza boxes were stacked on the dining room table. The smell hit the family making mouths water.

"No pineapple," Danny said contently lifting a lid and taking in the aroma.

It was just the way pizza was supposed to be.

The family piled the pizza onto paper plates and went to eat in the living room.

The smell of the pine tree mixed with the pizza. The live tree had been put into the tree holder ready to be decorated. Terry and his grandsons had already strung on lights.

The girl cousins sat together. Timmy and Terrence joined Tucker and Eric. The adults sat in groups of two or three talking.

Sammie ate an entire pizza by herself.

"Do you have another set of twins in there?" Crystal joked.

"There is only one baby and I have the ultrasound to prove it. I feel like I haven't eaten in weeks. At my last OB appointment my doctor said that I needed to eat whatever sounded good so I could get my weight up even if it was french fries. And right now pizza sounds good."

Corie chuckled. She was glad to see her sister eating again.

Clean up was pretty easy as most could be taken out to the garbage.

It was then time to decorate the tree. Grace and the other cousins took turns putting the same ordainments on that their parents had when they were younger. When it was done the family sat around it admiring their work. They then reminisced about Christmases past.

All noticed Gram excusing herself with tears in her eyes as a memory of Mattie was brought up.

"He hasn't tried to contact you? Has he Daniel?" Corie asked holding back tears of her own.

Danny shook his head remembering the last time he had seen his little brother is when he was boarding a plane and heading to who knows where.

"Why don't we see if there is a Christmas movie on T.V?" Terry suggested wanting to change the subject.

Terry had one of his sons with him this holiday season and wanted to get everyone out of the melancholy mood.

They spent the rest of the day watching Christmas show on T.V. Since they had a late lunch Liz and her daughters had set up food on the table buffet style. As people got hungry they came and filled up a plate and rejoined the family in the living room.

Around 9:30 everyone was tuckered out, even the younger kids who anxiously awaiting the day's end so they could go to bed and Santa could come and set to work. The adults and older kids got the younger ones into PJs and into bed.

Danny would be sharing his room with the boy cousins while the girl cousins were joining Talia and Grace in Corie's room. Corie and her husband were sleeping on a blow up mattress in Cryssie's room. Sammie and Sam had her room all to themselves. The arrangements had been set up before Sammie had gotten over her morning sickness. Her older sisters decided that they didn't want their pregnant sister tripping over the air mattress in an attempt to get to the bathroom.

Once teeth were brushed and everyone under the age of 18 was behind closed doors. The adults set to work setting out gifts and stockings for the next morning. They ran out of room pretty quickly and started stacking presents in any spot they could find. It was after midnight before the adults stumbled into bed.

Danny quietly stepped over a sleeping Terrence to get to the bottom bunk bed. He hoped the kids would sleep in tomorrow. He laughed to himself as a thought. When he was little he and his siblings would try to get their parents up starting around 5:30 A.M. He had a feeling that this year would be no different.

_A/N: So I did see somewhere on the internet that in an upcoming episode Danny was going to have a nephew named Eric to come and visit. We'll just have to see how that goes on the show. More pregnancy stuff that is all true. It did eat an entire cheese pizza and dreamed about giant potatoes and sour cream swimming pools. I guess I did eat while I was pregnant I was just really picky about what I ate. That drove my mother crazy. _


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I intended to post this chapter earlier, but oh well tis the season for putting things off to the last minute. I've got one more chapter after this to post. Hopefully it will get done before New Year's Day. Anyway Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, Feliz Navidad, Happy Holidays. Okay I need to vent for a minute. At the beginning of the holiday season we were informed by our principal that we needn't to avoid saying "Merry Christmas" so that we don't offend anybody. For crying out loud can I be offended that I can't say it. So ridiculous in my opinion. Anyway whatever you celebrate have a good one._

_Disclaimer: No I am not going to do the other 10 verses of 12 Days of Christmas. I am currently drawing a blank as far as combining my disclaimers with Christmas songs. (I don't own any of those songs either.) I own nothing._

Danny could hear little feet moving around starting around 5 the next morning.

"GO BACK TO BED!"

Different adult voices called out the phrase several times through out the morning. Danny did his best to ignore it so he could get some more sleep. He could hear Terrence and Timmy getting up going out, and coming back in. Eric and Tucker were still zonked out.

Kylie, Abby, Callie, and Sophie woke Grace and Talia up. The girls were laughing, giggling, and talking behind their closed door.

Around 7:30 the adults caved in and allowed the anxious children to go down the stairs to open gifts. All the grandkids ran towards the stair case. The two older boys snored on. It took Danny and Tucker's father to get the two sleeping boys up before the younger kids tore into the presents without them.

The two teens kicked a few kids off the couch so they could sit. Both put heads against the back of the couch and shut their eyes. The rest of the grandkids were so excited they could hardly keep still. The tired adults walked into the room yawning as much Tucker and Eric were. The family had to wait a few extra minutes for Sammie to be done in the bathroom.

The adults passed stockings out to the kids to keep them occupied. Out came candy, cheap plastic toys, and other goodies. The moms told the kids that they weren't having sweets for breakfast. Most snuck it when they thought no one was looking.

"I want Talia to open up her gift first," Corie announced as she went to get an envelope that was sitting on the fireplace mantle.

Talia's birthday had been back in September and besides a nice dinner and cake she hadn't received any other presents. Her mother told her that she would be receiving a large present for Christmas. Talia was on pins and needles wondering what was in the envelope that would be an entire Christmas and birthday.

She tore open the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. She read the paper silently to herself and suddenly started jumping up and down screaming. The paper fell to the floor and Grace picked it up reading what it said out loud to the group. It only had one word on it. HAWAII! Corie and Danny just smiled. They had been planning this for the past 6 months. Corie knew her daughter wanted to visit Hawaii and spend time with her cousin. It hadn't worked out for her family to take a trip like that yet.

When and how long she would get to stay was still up in the air. Danny had confided in his sister about what was happening with Grace's custody. He wasn't sure what this summer would look like. Although he was certain that he would get to have Grace for at least a week.

Talia went and hugged her mother.

"You need to thank everyone sweetie. The whole family pitched in," Corie said.

Corie had asked all her siblings for cash instead of presents for Talia. The younger kids were starting to get restless as Talia went around hugging everyone. Presents were passed out and the kids dug in.

Grace's amount of gifts was just as scant as Talia's. She knew that most of hers was this trip to Jersey. Grace had had an early Christmas with her mother and Stan. The suitcase full of presents that had been brought from Hawaii were for other family members. She and Talia enjoyed watching their cousins enjoy their Christmas. There were a ton of things to open. Abby and Kylie sat on Grace and Talia's laps while they opened gifts. The twins had to do it at the same time as most of what they got was the same.

Gram suggested a breakfast break when the presents were half gone. It came at a good time. Sammie kept snitching the stocking candy that her daughters had received. The pre made pancakes were heating in the oven. Everyone filled themselves quickly anxious to get back to the presents.

School gifts that the elementary and preschool aged kids made for parents were passed out next.

Grace excused herself and ran upstairs. She came down with a card sized envelope.

"Uncle Steve asked me to give this to you when he dropped us off at the airport," she said handing it to him.

Danny opened up the envelope inside was a card, and in the card looked like credit card. Danny's jaw dropped as he read both cards.

"What to you have son?" Terry asked.

"It's just a little something from my co workers," he said slipping the credit card look alike into the pocket of his pajama pants.

It was more than just a little something. His 5-0 colleagues as well as anyone else he had worked with had all pitched in on a prepaid visa card. Chin, Kono, and Steve all knew that Danny was planning taking Grace to New York during their trip so they wanted make sure that he could show her a good time. The card had several hundred dollars on it. Danny smiled as he watched the present opening continue.

As they got to the end Danny handed Grace an envelope.

"Danno you weren't supposed to get me anything more," she said looking up at him.

"Whatever, just open it," he said.

She opened up the envelope. It was tickets to a Broadway show.

"Danno these are for New Year's Eve," Grace said looking at the date, "And there's three tickets."

"You know being this close to New York and Times Square I though we could bring in the New Year there. And I though maybe Talia would like to come with us."

The girls began jumping up and down and screaming as they had before. The boy cousins dramatically put their hands over their ears to block out the high pitched noise. Grace and Talia attacked and hugged Danny at the same time.

The wrapping paper had been cleaned as each gift had been opened. There were four large black garbage bags full and ready to go outside.

Liz, Corie, Cryssie, and Sammie went into the kitchen to start heating up the parts of dinner that needed to be defrosted as well as getting other things prepared for the holiday meal.

Danny and the other fathers were on kid patrol. The T.V. turned on in search of another holiday movie. Talia and Grace played with their younger cousins. Sophie and Callie had received make up kits and were anxious to practice giving makeovers. Tucker fell back to sleep on the couch and the young girls attacked putting make up on him. He was in such a deep teenage boy sleep that he didn't even stir. Danny along with his brother in laws almost couldn't keep in their laugh as they watched and allowed Tucker to be given a new look. Papa Williams recorded the whole thing.

"You can use it as blackmail if he puts one toe out of line," he said to Tucker's father.

"Where's Eric?" Eric's father asked, "I think we need to do this to him next."

Danny patted the man's back. The whole family was worried about the young teen's recent behavior. He would have to tell his sister that he was serious about his offer to set his nephew straight.

A little while later Tucker woke up and got off the couch. He couldn't figure out why everyone was giggling. He went into the bathroom and screamed the second he saw himself in the mirror. Everyone all out laughed after that. When he finally came out of the bathroom his face was wet, and there was still a trace of makeup on it. The women had come out of the kitchen and watched the video on Terry's camera. Crystal offered Tucker a make up remover wipe so he could get the rest off. The older cousin saw the perpetrators of his makeover. As much as he wanted to be he couldn't be mad at his younger cousins.

The day continued on. It was a lazy sit about day unless you were helping in the kitchen. Liz and Terry Williams were happy to have the majority of the family back in one spot. It indeed had been a Merry Christmas.

_A/N: After seeing the last H50 episode I have to say I was a little upset. How could Danny let Rachel take Grace away at Christmas. Oh wait I guess I did that in this story, but Rachel agreed to it. I guess Danny agreed in that episode. I'm still ticked about it any how. I really really really really really really hate Rachel. At least they mentioned something about the custody. My prediction is the decision will be made close to the end of the season and as much as I hate to say it I am worried that Danny will lose and Grace will leave and the season will end and the I'll have to wait the whole f-ing summer to see what happens. I hope I am wrong. Why do the writers want to make Danny suffer? By the way anyone know when we can expect new episodes of the show. As much as I love the holiday season I know it means no new episodes for a while. Hope you liked the chapter. Thanks for reading._


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Last chapter. It's short. Damn writer's block. I kind of wanted to end the story on a happy note rather than a depressing Danny and Grace leaving to go back to Hawaii note. Enjoy and Happy New Year!_

_Disclaimer: If old acquaintance be forgot? Why do we sing this song at New Year's? I always thought it was kind of weird. Oh and I don't own H50._

Danny could see his breath as he breathed in the cold night air. He had his arms over the two preteen girls in front of him. First reason it was cold and second he didn't want to lose the two girls in the large crowd gathered in Times Square to watch the "Ball" drop at midnight.

Bringing in the New Year with his daughter in Times Square was something he had wanted to do since he found out that he was going to be a father. Unfortunately Grace had been too little before the move to Hawaii.

Talia stood next to her cousin. The two girls had their arms linked together. Both smiled in the direction of the giant sphere. Danny had invited Talia to join them on their side trip in New York because he wanted to maximize the time the two girls spent together, and no matter how far apart they lived they would always have this memory.

The three had had a very full day. They had gotten up early and driven into the city. Danny had borrowed his dad's car for the trip. They had seen a Broadway show matinee and then checked into the hotel that they would be staying in that night. They had then spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city. Grace and Talia had a blast pulling Danny into one shop after another. They had tried on outfits and other accessories. Moms who were out shopping with their own daughters couldn't help but smile at the short blond man that was being towed from one place to another by the overly excited girls. It was a sight that would have made any woman married or single melt.

At dinner Danny had insisted that both girls drink caffeinated sodas. He did not need either of them falling asleep and then having to carry one or both back to the hotel. Now the two girls were wired and anxiously awaiting midnight.

At 11:54 Grace felt her phone vibrate. She pulled her glove off so she could answer it. Danny looked down at his daughter through the 2013 glasses he was wearing. Grace and Talia wore the same. Grace handed the phone in his direction.

"It's Uncle Steve," she yelled through the noise of the crowd.

Danny had to put his face close to hers to make out what she was saying. She repeated what she had said, and he took the phone.

"Steve?!" he yelled over the noise.

Before Danny could say any more he was interrupted by the sound of noise makers and shouts of Happy New Year. A big smile crossed his face as he heard his team.

"What are you guys doing?" Danny asked starting to laugh, "It won't be the New Year for another six hour and three minutes for you guys."

"We still wanted to celebrate it with you," Steve said has he Chin and Kono started making noise again.

Danny had to pull the phone away because the noise was too loud.

"And I knew you wouldn't answer your phone so I called Grace."

Grace and Talia looked up at the detective wondering what was going on. Danny put the phone between their head so they could hear the noise.

"Steve, Chin, and Kono want to bring the New Year in with us."

At that moment the count down from ten started in the crowd. Danny, Talia, and Grace joined in turning their attention to the "Ball". The extra three in Hawaii counted down with them.

3. . . .2. . . .1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The crowd erupted into cheers and shouts. Confetti filled the air and couples kissed as they welcomed 2013.

Danny put his head in between Grace and Talia's and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. Both girls turned and kissed him back at the same time. Danny smiled.

"I'll see you soon," Danny said as he hung up the phone.

He and the girls started singing the traditional song "Auld Lang Syne" that brought in the year.

Danny still held Grace's phone and felt it vibrate in his hand. Grace had received a picture text from Steve. He smiled as he opened it. It was a picture of Chin, Kono, and Steve. They were making goofy faces and wearing celebratory cone shaped hats that were trimmed in tinsel.

Danny showed the photo to Grace and Talia. The three then posed for their own picture and sent it off. Danny received a return text that stated: "_c u soon buddy we miss u_".

His and Grace's trip was more than half over although the pair would not be returning home for another week. Danny found himself almost missing the pineapple filled islands more than he thought he would. Not to mention the people he worked with. Danny sighed hugging his daughter and niece closer with the celebration continuing around them.

_A/N: So someone asked in a review if Steve was going to show up and that almost happened. I suppose he could have gotten Catherine to use a Military Satellite to track Danny's cell phone to pinpoint his location in the crowd, but that might have been a bit over the top. And I don't think he would crash Danny's trip. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading._


End file.
